Marketa Vondrousova won the women's single Wimbledon title on Saturday, stunning her opponent to become the first-ever unseeded woman to win the prestigious tennis tournament.
The 24-year-old native of the Czech Republic completed an unexpected performance by beating Tunisia's Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 to become a Grand Slam champion for the first time. Both of her victories were come-from-behind wins. The center court roof of the All England Club in London was closed for the match, The Associated Press noted, shielding both players from 20 mph winds outside that "allowed Vondrousova's smooth lefty strokes to repeatedly find the intended mark."
The victory marks an improbable — and historic — comeback for Vondrousova. While she at one time had a career-high of No. 14 in the world in the Women's Tennis Rankings, Vondrousova entered Wimbledon unseeded at world No. 42. Her improbable victory in the final came against an odds-on favorite in Jabeur, the world No. 6 and thus the sixth seed in the tournament.
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Vondrousova is the lowest-ranked woman to win Wimbledon since WTA rankings were established in 1975. She also became the first unseeded woman to even reach the Wimbledon finals in 60 years. The last to do so, Billie Jean King in 1963, was that year's runner-up and was on hand during Saturday's match to watch Vondrousova's victory.
"I don't really know what's happening now. It's an amazing feeling," Vondrousova said during the trophy ceremony, per The AP. She noted that she had undergone surgery last year to repair an injured left wrist that had seen her pushed to the edge of the game. "After everything I've been through — I had a cast last year [at] this time — it's just amazing that I can stand here and hold this. Tennis is crazy."
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